Couple accused of starving dogs

INDIANA -- Two Winchester residents face criminal prosecution over the alleged mistreatment of their dogs, which authorities said appeared to be starving.

Raymond S. Hammonds, 27, and Breanna E. Snelling, 29, both of 116 E. Fourth St., were charged Monday with cruelty to an animal.

According to a Winchester Police Department report, a city police officer was called to the East Fourth Street home by an animal control officer on Sept. 6.

Officer Brandon Barndollar reported finding two dogs chained outside the house that were "so skinny that I could see their ribs and hip bones."

The officer wrote that he saw no food dishes in the area. He also expressed concern over "pinch collars" around the canines' necks.

"Pinch collars are typically used in training and are not used to tie the animal (outside) .... due to long prongs on the inside of the collar... (that) go into the neck of the animal (when tightened)," he wrote.

Barndollar said he knocked on the front door and asked a man later identified as Hammonds to produce the dog's "food bag."

"Raymond advised he had just started back to work and had not bought them food yet," Barndollar wrote. "However, he had been giving them table scraps nearly every night."

Hammonds also indicated he had placed pinch collars on the dogs "because they slip out of or break every other collar" he puts on them, the report said.

Snelling came to the front door and showed the officer a $5 bill, saying she intended to use it to buy food for the dogs.

"Seeing as the dogs are medium-sized ... and clearly underfed, I explained to her that $5 in food would not last her the weekend, let alone the week," Barndollar wrote.

The dogs were taken to the Winchester Animal Shelter.

The cruelty charges filed Monday by Randolph County Prosecutor David Daly's office are Class A misdemeanors carrying maximum one-year jail terms.

Initial hearings are set Oct. 30 in Randolph Superior Court.

Snelling was convicted of possession of marijuana in 2006. Hammonds appears to have no prior criminal record.

(The Star Press - Oct 15, 2014)